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[4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Bio-Chromatic Breath

Each and every natural sentient humanoid is born with one breath. Breath calls out to other breath, which is the source of people’s abilities to sense one another. The feeling of being watched is your breath connecting with another’s. Abberations and Fey do not have Breath, nor can they contain them. Different numbers of Breath have different effects on the body. Their own natural life energy mimics the effects of a single breath but is not subject to the science of Bio-Chroma.

Bio-Chroma can also be used to animate the inanimate using simple commands and the investiture of Breath. The more complex the command and the less natural the object to be animated the more breaths are required to animate it. Breath used in such ritual magic is invested and then reclaimed by the practioner, commonly called an Awakener.

The most recognizable sign of an Awakener is the aura of intense color that surrounds them. The Awakener's aura makes all colors brighter, yet does not change the hue, it just makes them more intense.

0 Breaths – Drab

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A Drab is someone who has given up their breath, which while mostly harmless does have several different effects. A Drab does not have the natural life sense of most sentients nor can they be detected by that same life sense. When Breathless apply the following Drab template.

A single breath is the natural state of sentient humanoids. While in possession of a single breath remove any Bio-Chroma templates.

50 Breaths – The First Heightening

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The First Heightening grants increased health and longevity as well as an innate sense of life energy. The effects of the First Heightening extend out from the humanoid in a bubble of enhanced color which can be distinguished by anyone of the First Heightening or up instinctively or by a DC 20 Perception check. When in possession of 50 breaths apply the First Heightening Template

First Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5
You gain 1 additional healing surge per daySkills: +2 Insight, +2 Perception, -2 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to.

200 Breaths – The Second Heightening

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At 200 Breaths you gain a perfect perception of Pitch, and your life force increases in strength, granting you increased vitality and longevity. Upon reaching 200 Breaths replace the First Heightening template with the Second Heightening.

A creature in possession of 600 Breaths reaches the Third Heightening, and with it the Perfect Color Recognition it grants. Upon reaching 600 Breaths replace the Second Heightening template with the Third Heightening.

In addition you are now capable of understanding the Hallendren Artisan script. Add Artisan Script to your list of Languages. Should you lose the benefits of the Third Heightening or higher you can no longer decipher Artisan Script.

Third Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5
You gain 2 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 4 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +4 FortitudeSkills: +6 Insight, +4 Perception, +4 Arcana, -2 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Full round action you may attempt to sense life out to a 50 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

1000 Breaths – The Fourth Heightening

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An Awakener is possession of 1000 Breaths reaches the Fourth Heightening and gains the maximum value of their Life Sense. Other than this there is very little difference from the Third Heightening. Upon reaching 1000 Breaths apply the Fourth Heightening template and remove the Third Heightening.

Fourth Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5
You gain 2 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 6 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +4 Fortitude, +2 ReflexSkills: +6 Insight, +6 Perception, +4 Arcana, -2 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

2000 Breaths – The Fifth Heightening

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The Fifth Heightening is one of the most sought after numbers of Breaths despite it's prodigious expense. Upon reaching the Fifth Heightening the Awakener ceases to Age, is immune to all disease and cannot be poisoned.

Fifth Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5Immune Disease, Poison
You gain 3 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 10 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +6 Fortitude, +2 ReflexSkills: +6 Insight, +6 Perception, +4 Arcana, -2 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

3,500 Breaths – The Sixth Heightening

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In addition to the already amazing benefits of the first five heightenings an Awakener of the Sixth Heightening gains the ability to Awaken instinctively. Upon reaching 3,500 Breaths replace the Fifth Heightening template with the Sixth Heightening.

Sixth Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5Immune Disease, Poison
You gain 3 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 10 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +6 Fortitude, +2 ReflexSkills: +6 Insight, +6 Perception, +4 Arcana, -2 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

Instinctive Awakening: You gain all Bio-Chroma rituals of Levels 6 or below and may use any of them as a Standard action.

5,000 Breaths – The Seventh Heightening

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The Seventh Heightening is extremely uncommon, and it's powers have not been fully explored. One thing that is known is that those of the Seventh Heightening can recognize the aura's of Awakened objects. Upon reaching 5,000 Breaths replace the Six Heightening template with the Seventh.

Seventh Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5Immune Disease, Poison
You gain 3 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 10 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +6 Fortitude, +2 ReflexSkills: +6 Insight, +6 Perception, +4 Arcana, -2 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

Instinctive Awakening: You gain all Bio-Chroma rituals of Levels 6 or below and may use any of them as a Standard action.

Breath Recognition: You may recognize Awakened objects on sight and know the number of Breaths required to Awaken it.

10,000 Breaths – The Eighth Heightening

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The benefits of the Eight Heightening are not fully understood, the only thing currently know is that it allows an Awakener to override the commands of Awakened objects or Lifeless intuitively, a process know as Command Breaking. Upon reaching 10,000 Breaths apply the Eight Heightening template and replace the Seventh Heightening.

Eight Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5Immune Disease, Poison
You gain 3 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 12 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +6 Fortitude, +4 ReflexSkills: +6 Insight, +6 Perception, +4 Arcana, -4 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

Instinctive Awakening: You gain all Bio-Chroma rituals of Levels 6 or below and may use any of them as a Standard action.

Breath Recognition: You may recognize Awakened objects on sight and know the number of Breaths required to Awaken it.

Command Breaking: As a Full Round action you may study a Lifeless or Awakened object in an adjacent space and attempt to intuitively grasp it's command. Make an opposed Insight vs. Perception check. On success you gain command of the Lifeless, or deactivate the Awakened Object.

20,000 Breaths – The Ninth Heightening

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Upon reaching the Ninth Heightening an Awakener no longer requires physical contact with the object they are trying to Awaken and can Awaken anything that can hear their voice.

In addition only those of the Ninth Heightening can Awaken Metal or Stone. Upon reaching 20,000 Breaths replace the Eight Heightening template with the Ninth Heightening.

Ninth Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5Immune Disease, Poison
You gain 4 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 15 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +8 Fortitude, +4 ReflexSkills: +8 Insight, +8 Perception, +4 Arcana, -6 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

Instinctive Awakening: You gain all Bio-Chroma rituals of Levels 6 or below and may use any of them as a Standard action.

Breath Recognition: You may recognize Awakened objects on sight and know the number of Breaths required to Awaken it.

Command Breaking: As a Full Round action you may study a Lifeless or Awakened object in an adjacent space and attempt to intuitively grasp it's command. Make an opposed Insight vs. Perception check. On success you gain command of the Lifeless, or deactivate the Awakened Object.

Audible Command: You may use Awakenings on any object within range of your voice without needing to physically contact it.

Greater Awakening: You may use Awakening rituals with the [Greater] modifier.

50,000 Breaths – The Tenth Heightening

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The Tenth Heightening is currently the highest known Heightening of all and is even more mysterious than any of the others. What is known however is that those of the Tenth Heightening bend light around them until it splits into a rainbow of colors. In addition objects drained of their color becomes completely white rather than the flat gray traditionally seen by Awakeners.

Tenth Heightening
Vulnerable Psychic 5Immune Disease, Poison
You gain 5 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 20 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +10 Fortitude, +6 ReflexSkills: +10 Insight, +10 Perception, +8 Arcana, -10 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

Instinctive Awakening: You gain all Bio-Chroma rituals of Levels 6 or below and may use any of them as a Standard action.

Breath Recognition: You may recognize Awakened objects on sight and know the number of Breaths required to Awaken it.

Command Breaking: As a Full Round action you may study a Lifeless or Awakened object in an adjacent space and attempt to intuitively grasp it's command. Make an opposed Insight vs. Perception check. On success you gain command of the Lifeless, or deactivate the Awakened Object.

Audible Command: You may use Awakenings on any object within range of your voice without needing to physically contact it.

Greater Awakening: You may use Awakening rituals with the [Greater] modifier.

An Awakening functions similarly to a Ritual but is usually much quicker and much less controlled than ritual magic. All Awakenings have a cost in Breath attached which must be paid in order to activate the Awakening, many also require prepared foci or materials in order to function.

Awakenings do not require a ritual book, but they do require the Ritual Caster feat due to the complex nature of the visualizations and mental strain inherent in Awakening.

All Awakenings require the Awakener to speak clearly and firmly such that his target can hear and understand what he is saying. He must speak in his native tongue without stuttering or slurring of the words. An incorrectly spoken Awakening drains the requisite number of Breaths but does not result in a functional Awakening. There is one Awakening command that can be used without the Ritual Caster feat.

You target one other living humanoid or inanimate object. Upon uttering the command your Breath (regardless of number) flows out of you and into your target. You may only use this command to transfer your entire reserve of breath at once. Upon using this Awakening apply the Drab template to yourself.

Your target is infused with your breath and depending on the number of breaths may be overcome with the new sensory information. Consult the table to determine the effect of the transfer.

You recover the breath used in one of your own Awakenings from the Awakened object within your reach. This cannot be used on an object you did not Awaken yourself. Upon usage the object becomes inanimate and you gain the full Component Cost used to animate it. Consult the Breath effect chart under the My Breath To Yours ritual to determine any ill effects of reclaiming your Breath.

Awakened commands are very simple, and usually can be used on a variety of materials or focuses. But the visualization and mental discipline required to make it work means that each command must be learned individually and requires practice to perfect.

This Awakening creates an animate length of rope or cord which entangles anything it touches upon being thrown. Until thrown it will remain inert and can be carried safely. At any time you may make the following attack.

This Awakening creates a Tiny servant with instructions to find and retrieve one type of object and return it to the Awakener. The object must be specified at the time of Awakening and cannot be anything which weighs more than 5 pounds. The servant shares your defenses and has only 1 hp.

Focus: A small figure made of organic material such as straw or bark, fashioned into the shape of a man. Fashioning such a figure takes at least 10 minutes. It can be made in advance. The Focus is not destroyed if you reclaim the figure without it being killed.

This Awakening creates an animate cloak which defends the Awakener against melee attacks until it is destroyed or its Breath is reclaimed. The cloak is capable of making three attacks before the strain destroys the focus. The attack is as follows.

This Awakening uses a specially tailored garment to add Bio-Chromatic power to your limbs. The garment cannot be removed once it has been Awakened and must be reclaimed by the Awakener or torn apart as a Standard Action in order to stop the effect.

As long as the garment remains active and in place the wearer gains a +2 untyped bonus to damage rolls with a melee weapon.

Focus: A Specially tailored garment worth at least 60 gold. A mundane garment can be awakened for an additional component cost of 15 Breath.

Specially strengthened and fitted chaps worn over the armor bend and flex to match your natural muscles. The Bio-chromatic enhancement speeds you stride and absorbs the shock of falling.

The garment cannot be removed once it has been Awakened unless reclaimed by the Awakener or torn apart as a Standard Action. As long as the Awakening remains in place the wearer gains a +1 Enhancement bonus to speed and can absorb a total of 100 fall damage.

Upon taking 100 fall damage the garment is destroyed and no longer grants the speed bonus.

Focus: A specially constructed pair of chaps worth at least 60 gold. Mundane clothing can be substituted for an additional Component Cost of 15 Breaths. In addition mundane clothing can only absorb 40 fall damage before being destroyed.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

There are two mainstream faiths in the setting, one worshiping Austre, God of Colors, and the other worshiping The Iridescent Tones, The God Kings and The Returned.

Austrism

Austrism is the name for the worship of Austre as well as the tenants of the faith. This is mostly practiced in the mountain kingdom of Idris.

Austrism is based on a doctrine known as The Five Visions, passed down to them by the First Returned Vo. Upon Returning Vo dictated the Five Visions then impregnated his wife before dying of his Breath Dependency one week later. His child, with the blood of the First Returned, became the first King of Hallendren. His descendants are the Idrian Royalty.

Austrism believes you should not draw attention to yourself, you must be humble in all things. They shun bright colors in favor of drab earth tones and whitewash.

Austre is a Lawful Good god, and has the Protection, Justice and Civilization domains. Worshippers of Austre with the Channel Divinity feature may take the Austre's Stoicism feat which is as follows.

Austre's StoicismPrerequisites: Channel Divinity class feature, must worship AustreBenifit: You may invoke the power of your deity to use Austre's Stoicism

Austre's StoicismEncounter ✦ DivineMinor Action Ranged 5Target: You or one allyEffect: The target gains a +5 power bonus to Fortitude defense until the start of your next turn.Special: You must take the Austre's Stoicism feat to use this power.

The Iridescent Tones

The Iridescent Tones are not so much deities as they are a force of nature. Worshipers believe that the Tones choose people who die in showing some virtue and send them back to the living as The Returned in order to deal with some future challenge or to impart wisdom to those still alive.

The Returned themselves possess one intense Breath which mimics the effects of the Third Heightening. To the senses of an Awakener it registers as infinite in scope.

Expending this Breath allows the Returned to grant one Wish at the cost of their own life. It may be used to do the following.

Heal one person of any affliction

Revive the dead, regardless of the location or condition of the body or how long they have been deceased

Grant a +2 Inherent bonus to any ability score

Slay one living creature regardless of any defenses (Must be within sight)

Destroy an Artifact

Other possible usages at the DM's discretion.

Each Returned can only grant one wish and cannot be raised or revived through any means (including another Returned's Wish) upon using their wish. Their body loses all color and life and quickly crumbles into dust.

When a character Returns apply the following template.

Returned

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Vulnerable Psychic 5Immune Disease, Poison
You gain 3 more healing surges per day, you surge heals 10 additional points Defenses: -2 Will, +6 Fortitude, +2 ReflexSkills: +6 Insight, +6 Perception, +4 Arcana, -2 HideLife Sense: You know the number of Breaths possessed by any creature you have Line of Sight to. You also know the total remaining health of the creature.

As a Standard action you may attempt to sense life out to a 100 ft radius. Roll an Insight versus an opposed Hide check for each creature within that radius. If you are successful you learn the precise location and number of breaths possessed by each creature in that radius. This cannot be used to detect Drabs.

Breath Dependency: A Returned must consume 1 Breath each week or die. If a Returned dies in this manner they cannot be raised or revived by any means (including a Returned Wish). The Returned can store multiple breaths as an Awakener and consumes 1 Breath from their total each week. They cannot use the My Breath to Yours Awakening to transfer their single Divine Breath, but they can use it on any additional Breath they possess.

Wish: You may expend your Divine Breath to grant one wish or request which may be taken from the following.

Heal one person of any affliction

Revive the dead, regardless of the location or condition of the body or how long they have been deceased

Grant a +2 Inherent bonus to any ability score

Slay one living creature regardless of any defenses (Must be within sight)

Destroy an Artifact

Other possible usages at the DM's discretion.

Returned in Idris are usually allowed to die from their Breath Dependency as they are seen as an ephemeral glimpse at Austre's benevolence that must not be exploited or kept past it's natural time.

In Hallendren the Returned are worshiped as gods, believing them to have been sent back by the Iridescent Tones to guide the living. The Court of the Gods in the center of Hallendren City houses and pampers the Returned and provides them with their weekly Breath.

In exchange the Returned are petitioned each morning by supplicants to the court hoping to gain the benefit of a Wish. In addition the Priests of the Iridescent Tones use the Returned to divine fortunes and portents through their dreams and reactions to art or even everyday life.

The God Kings

The Rulers of Hallendren are called The God Kings. Each God King is still born and attains ascension before birth (or so the Priests claim). The Stillborn child then Returns and becomes the next God King.

Unlike normal Returned the God King is capable of granting much more powerful Wishes but still dies upon completion. Common practice is for a God King to rule for 50 to 60 years before conceiving an heir. Once an heir is born the God King seeks out some great task, a plague, a horde of monster, and uses his Divine Wish to help his people.

The true power of the God Kings lies with the Light of Peace. A very impressive name for the treasure trove of Breaths which has been passed down through the God Kings since the Manywar and the reign of Peacegiver. The Light of Peace consists of tens of thousands of Breaths and raises it's holder to the Tenth Heightening.

The God King's Bio-chromatic aura splits white light into a rainbow of colors as though through a prism. He is capable of Awakening objects with only the sound of his voice or even through just the power of his mind. He is also the only person capable of learning the Command Phrases for a Lifeless through intuition alone.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

The Lifeless

The science of Bio-Chroma is inextricably tied up in the creation and perfection of Lifeless. The methods of effectively creating and maintaining Lifeless are one of the main contributing factors to the Manywar.

Before the invention of Ichor alcohol and the perfect Lifeless creation ritual as found by Kalad the Usurper there was no effective way of turning Breath into military force.

The most effective Awakened warriors were amazingly complex and expensive, taking hundreds of Breaths for each one only to make a creature not significantly more effective than a human soldier.

But Kalad's Lifeless only took a single Breath to animate, could change their commands after their initial creation, retained skills from their life, and could be quickly and efficiently repaired.

With these new Lifeless each soldier could do the work of two, a Drab to wield one sword, and his Breath to animate a Lifeless to hold another.

Kalad's military force doubled nearly overnight and he quickly crushed the Royal forces and took control of Hallendren city, which officially kicked off the Manywar.

The Prepare Corpse ritual is used to repair and prepare a body for it's new job as a Lifeless. Replacing the blood with Ichor alcohol is a lengthy and difficult process as well as prohibitively expensive.

Upon completion of the ritual the body can be stored for up to 3 days without suffering any further degredation. This can be extended to 9 days if the body is stored in a cool, dry place.

Turns one prepared corpse into a Lifeless at the permanent cost of 1 Breath. The bodies color is drained as fuel in the ritual, leaving the Lifeless with it's distinctive gray pallor.

Upon creation the Awakener chooses a Command Phrase, usually two words, which can be used to change the commands of the Lifeless. Anyone who knows the Command Phrase can change the commands, it is also possible to change the phrase once you know it.

If a properly prepared corpse is used in the ritual a Lifeless Warrior is created.

The Lifeless warrior cannot be healed by normal HP regaining effects such as those of the Cleric, Warlord or Bard. They can however be repaired by an Artificer's healing infusion.

If an unprepared corpse is used as the focus instead of a prepared corpse you instead create a Lifeless Shambler.

A Lifeless Warrior takes 10 points of damage each day from normal wear and decomposition. A Lifeless Shambler takes 25 points of damage each day.

Focus: A corpse prepared with the Prepare Corpse ritual. An unprepared corpse can be substituted as stated in the text.

The component cost of this ritual is equal to 5 X the amount of damage you wish to repair + 10 gp.

The Lifeless does not take wear and tear damage on the day that you use this ritual, so paying the minimum 10 gp on a day when the Lifeless is undamaged will negate any wear damage for that day.

Using this ritual repairs all damage to the Lifeless at a rate of 1 point per minute. Interrupting the ritual does not negate the amount of repair done to that point but you must spend the original 10 gp each time you start.

Focus: A Lifeless repair kit worth 25 gold and weighing 15 lbs. This does not consume the kit.

The D'Denir, for DM eyes only

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The Paragon's of Lifeless creation are the D'Denir. Statues that line the streets of Hallendren city (a gift to the city from Peacegiver to celebrate the end of the Manywar) they are actually the fabled army of the Usurper, Kalad's Phantoms.

Each D'Denir is actually a human skeleton, Awakened as a Lifeless, and encased in Awakened Stone. While each D'Denir is abhorrently expensive compared to a Lifeless each one is able to kill hundreds of Lifeless in single combat and are nearly unstoppable en masse.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Awakened Weapons

It costs 10,000 Breaths to Awaken a weapon and grant it sentience. Once created the Investiture of Breath cannot be reclaimed and the weapon becomes self-willed and self-aware. Like all Awakened objects Awakened Weapons have at their core a single command which forms the basis of their personality.

For example, the sword Nightblood's command is "Destroy Evil." Unfortunately lumps of sharp steel have very little concept of what actually qualifies as "Evil".

Nightblood

Nightblood is a unique +3 Awakened Bastard Sword with the following properties and powers

Enhancement: Attack rolls and Damage rollsCritical: +3d8 Necrotic damage per plusProperty: Upon reducing an enemy to 0 hitpoints, take a Standard ActionProperty: The attack bonus from charging is increased to +2.Property: Each turn that Nightblood is drawn and held it consumes 25 Breath. If this would reduce the wielder to 0 Breath they are killed instantly and cannot be resurrected except through a Returned Wish.Property: Each turn that Nightblood is drawn and held it deals 5 damage to the wielder.Power: At-Will (Special) ✦ Weapon, Necrotic

Standard Action Close Blast 3Target: Each creature in blastAttack: Strength vs. FortitudeHit: 3[W] + Strength modifier Necrotic damage.Special You must expend a Healing surge to use this power. This power may be used as a melee basic attack on a charge.

Nightblood's Goals

Destroy Evil (whatever that means)

Figure out what morality is

Be used in battle

Roleplaying Nightblood
Nightblood communicates telepathically with it's wielder and cheerfully urges them to draw him in any situation. Nightblood has no concept of morality and will usually decide that anyone in opposition to it's wielder is Evil and thus deserves death.

Nightblood is able to hear any and all thoughts of it's wielder and will respond to them as though they were directed at it (As Nightblood perceives the world everything should be directed at Nightblood).

Nightblood becomes sullen if refused the opportunity to fight and will actively seek to kill the wielder if it decides they are "Evil".

Concordance
{table]Starting Score | 5

Owner gains a Level | +1d10

Nightblood is used to kill (Maximum 2/day) | +2

Owner draws Nightblood (Maximum 1/day) | +1

Owner is Evil | -6

Owner completes an Encounter without drawing Nightblood | -2[/table]

Pleased (16-20)"We've sure destroyed a lot of Evil haven't we? I'm sure Shashara would be proud of me. We should go see her! Wouldn't that be fun?

Nightblood's Enhancement Bonus increases to +5Critical: +5d8 Necrotic DamageProperty: The attack bonus from a charge is increased to +4Property: Upon reducing an enemy to 0 hitpoints, take a Standard Action and gain an action point.

Satisfied (12-15)"You're not doing too bad, we are destroying Evil right? I've never been too clear on which side you're on."

Nightblood's Enhancement Bonus increases to +4Critical: +4d8 Necrotic DamageProperty: The attack bonus from a charge is increased to +3

Normal (5-11)"Come on come on come oooooon!!! Draw me already!!"

Nightblood urges it's wielder to draw the blade and do battle, he is not too picky as to the enemy.

Unsatisfied (1-4)"You are weak! Draw the blade squishy one!!"

Property: You take a -4 penalty on attack rolls with any weapon other than Nightblood, this effect persists unless Nightblood is no longer in your possession.

Any time Nightblood is Unsatisfied and not in someones possession it makes the following attack against all sentient creatures within 5 squares.

At-will ✦ CharmFree Action (1/round) Close Burst 5Target: All creatures in burstAttack: 1d20 + 1/2 level vs. WillHit: Target is Dominated until the end of their next turn.

Dominated creatures when Nightblood is Unsatisfied will move to and pick up Nightblood.

Angered (0 or Lower)"Prepare to die creature of Evil!!!"

Nightblood has decided that you the wielder are Evil, and nothing will persuade him otherwise. He immediately attempts to dominate the wielder and kill him.

Property: Nightblood cannot be drawn while Angered and must be wielded with the sheath still in place. His [W] die is reduced to 1d8 as a result.

Property: The wielder does not fall unconscious when in negative hitpoints and is not entitled to death saves. Upon reaching -10 hitpoints the wielder is killed immediately.

Once dominated the Target makes a Coup De Grace attempt on itself each turn until dead or until no longer dominated. Creatures killed in this manner cannot be resurrected except through a Returned Wish.

If dropped while Angered it makes the following attack.

At-will ✦ CharmFree Action (1/round) Ranged 5Target: The WielderAttack: 1d20 + level vs. WillHit: Target is Dominated until the end of their next turn.

Moving On

Nightblood only leaves it's Owner if angered, and in that case they are already dead. If by some chance the Owner survived Nightblood's wrath and was separated from the weapon they lose one healing surge permanently and their weapon arm is bleached a dull gray.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Each natural humanoid has 1 Breath, and everyone can use the My Breath to Yours without training or having to buy it. So basically you pay someone to give you their breath, they become a Drab and you are one Breath higher.

I guess I should link back to the main campaign setting page. But it's common practice in Hallendren to buy and sell Breaths. I haven't decided how much they will cost yet but it should be substantial.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Originally Posted by Krazddndfreek

I'm confused about how breaths are acquired. Or did you not work that out?

Not to be rude or anything

In the books this comes from, each person has one Breath, and to get more you need to take them from other people; they can only be given willingly, so most often you buy Breaths if someone needs money badly (one example is someone selling his Breath to sustain one of the gods and being paid enough to live well for a year in return). Limos's question on what they should cost sort of answers the question. EDIT: Looks like Limos covered this.

As to cost, you definitely want to make them somewhat expensive (as in the example above), but (A) it shouldn't cut into expected treasure levels too much and (B) it should be possible to get the First Heightening relatively easily. I'd say take the wealth you should have at 15th level (don't play 4e, don't know it offhand) and divide it by 5000 to get the cost of a Breath; once you have 10 Breaths, the cost goes up by 10gp as you need to find Breaths from people in better health or who otherwise wouldn't want to part with them. For instance, if WBL at 15th is 100,000, each Breath would cost 20gp at 1st level. Once you have 10 Breaths, the next 10 cost 30gp, the next 40gp, and so on.

Now, I'm not sure of the 4e WBL system so that may throw things off too much, but hopefully that should let people get the Third Heightening around 16th or 17th while allowing people who really focus on it to get it earlier. And of course this is assuming you need to find people to sell you Breath--if you can pick up a couple dozen on the corner at once from a black marketeer at the Second Heightening, you'd obviously want to jack them up a bit.

Last edited by PairO'Dice Lost; 2009-08-03 at 02:13 PM.

Better to DM in Baator than play in CelestiaYou can just call me Dice; that's how I roll.

Spoiler: Sig of Holding

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Originally Posted by abadguy

Darn you PoDL for making me care about a bunch of NPC Commoners!

Originally Posted by Chambers

I'm pretty sure turning Waterdeep into a sheet of glass wasn't the best win condition for that fight. We lived though!

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Well the WBL for 4e is pretty much the cost of 1 magic item at your level, so for Level 15 it is 25,000. So if the Third Heightening is 500 breaths, that would mean 50 gold per breath.

That would also mean that you would reach the first heightening at Level 7 (WBL = 2,600) and the Second Heightening around level 11 (WBL = 9,000)

If I made breaths cost less during Heroic tier, say 30 gold. Then you would reach the First Heightening at around level 5. The Second heightening would then be at Level 10. And then we raise the price of Breaths to 50 at that point and they shouldn't reach the Third Heightening until level 15.

So mid heroic for First, just entering Paragon for second, and mid Paragon for third.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

There are specific and not at all hard to discern benefits to all ten heightenings. For example, the third heightening grants perfect color recognition and immunity to disease. The second heightening gives perfect pitch as I recall, at least in hearing though maybe not in vocal reproduction. Somewhere along the line you stop aging, too.

Returned get the fifth heightening automatically, not just the third. They also lose all memory of their past life, but retain all their skills and abilities.

As I recall even the sixth heightening is not all that incredibly rare in Hallandren, and enough people have achieved all the way through the ninth heightening over the course of history that the benefits to that point are well known to people who study the subject. The tenth heightening has only ever been achieved by the God-Kings of Hallandren, and aside from the color-splitting aura its benefits are a well kept secret, though at least two of them are revealed to the reader near the end of Warbreaker.

You left out the aura of intensified color that surrounds everyone who has extra breaths. It's barely perceptible to a normal person at the first heightening, easy to spot by the third, and blatantly obvious by the fifth.

Awakenings other than the basic breath transfers should also require a brightly colored object, which gets drained of color when the Awakening is performed.

If you haven't read Warbreaker, don't open this spoiler:

Spoiler

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The body of a Returned changes to match the Returned's own mental self image. If a Returned thinks of himself as a massively strong warrior, then he automatically gets immense muscles without having to exercise for it at all. If he thinks of himself as a spindly scholar, he will automatically be thin and weak. It is possible for Returned to learn to control this effect deliberately, and to even use it to control minor details of appearance.

It is also possible for a Returned to hide his divine breath by manipulating his self image in the right way. If he does so, it no longer counts towards which heightening he has, does not affect the colors around him, is not apparent to the aura recognition granted by any heightening, and doesn't even prevent him from becoming a Drab. A Returned who has hidden his divine breath can use My Breath To Yours (the phrase is actually "My life to yours, my breath become yours") and it will transfer only his normal breaths, leaving the divine breath that makes him a Returned in his possession. He still needs to consume one breath per week to survive, however.

4e "Wealth By Level" is actually three magic items, one of each level 1 above, at, and 1 below your level, plus gold equivalent to a magic item 1 level below your level. A level 15 character gets one level 16 item, one level 15 item, one level 14 item, and gold equal to the price of a level 14 item.

I think the value you're placing on each heightening is too high. Any character who spends his entire wealth on breaths is crippling himself at high levels due to the lack of basic enhancement bonuses on his attacks and defenses. Unless either the heightenings themselves or Awakenings easy enough and cheap enough to be routine make up for those, no sensible character will spend more than a relatively small fraction of his wealth on breath.

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Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

I changed a few things with the Heightenings, I gave Color to second because that isn't actually as useful as Perfect pitch or so I thought.

I was thinking of adding in the Artisan script as a secret language that you need the second heightening to perceive, being based on subtle color gradients as it is.

Is it really 50,000 for the Tenth? I just guessed at 20,000 since it said that the Light of Peace measured in the "Tens of Thousands" and that he had the Tenth Heightening.

I didn't want to make any heightenings after the third simply because it was getting to be a lot of work.

Also if you look at the rituals, for instance Protect Me, it lets you push an opponent away three times per focus and you don't lose the breath afterward. It's basically the cost of the cloak for three uses of Repulsion Armor except it doesn't cut into your Daily Item uses.

Also my version is an immediate interrupt rather than an immediate reaction. So rather than just pushing away people who get close to you it actually blocks attacks.

To make up for that it requires an attack roll, but it keys off Insight which gets a big boost from the Heightenings.

I was planning on leaving Returned as not being Awakeners, just so we don't have to deal with Players trying to be Returned. I guess what I meant was that they can't go giving their Divine Breath away.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Neat idea.

But the God-King as Level 35? That would make him as strong as a true minor god in a generic D&D system, and I didn't picture him being that powerful.

Warbreaker overall is not a super high-powered world. With the exception of the God-King, Vasher, and Denth (and their other ex-comrade who's mostly just mentioned in the Epilogue), I'd say the highest-level characters in the entire world are maybe Level 15. That's including the rest of the Court of Gods (who make up most of the above-Level-10 population).

With that in mind, Susebron could believably have kicked everybody's trash at the end of the book even if he was only Level 22 or so.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

I was planning to stat out Denth and Vasher, as well as write up artifact stats for Nightblood.

I think I'll make Susebron v2 a level 20, and Vasher and Denth can be level 16. Tonk Fah will be level 10, he's nowhere near as strong as Denth.

The Returned aren't very high level at all in my mind. Just think of Blushweaver and Lightsong, they can't awaken, they can't fight. They are basically bystanders. I could see their priests as high level clerics, but the Gods themselves are more like very fragile Wishes just waiting to be made.

I know that Warbreaker isn't a very high power setting, I was planning to use that Styles variant that was floating around a while back, so that people would just be using mundane weapons and armor rather than having magic items and whatnot floating about.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Originally Posted by Limos

I think I'll make Susebron v2 a level 20, and Vasher and Denth can be level 16. Tonk Fah will be level 10, he's nowhere near as strong as Denth.

The Returned aren't very high level at all in my mind. Just think of Blushweaver and Lightsong, they can't awaken, they can't fight. They are basically bystanders. I could see their priests as high level clerics, but the Gods themselves are more like very fragile Wishes just waiting to be made.

Sounds good. I might still bump Susebron up into Epic tier, but not much higher than 20. Still, he should be able to whoop Vasher and Denth's trash. 10 sounds perfect for Tonk Fah.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Originally Posted by Limos

The Returned aren't very high level at all in my mind. Just think of Blushweaver and Lightsong, they can't awaken, they can't fight. They are basically bystanders. I could see their priests as high level clerics, but the Gods themselves are more like very fragile Wishes just waiting to be made.

Not all that fragile, they should at least typically have spectacular ability scores plus the free levels of heightening.

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Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Well sure they get the free Heightenings and I already decided to give all Returned and their ilk a spectacular Constitution. They would get an above average strength just from all that free musculature. But all their mental scores would stay the same.

And I doubt they would have much skill with weapons, or any ability to awaken. Vasher seems more like an exception to the rule than the average Returned.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Originally Posted by Limos

And I doubt they would have much skill with weapons, or any ability to awaken. Vasher seems more like an exception to the rule than the average Returned.

Spoiler

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Vasher states at the end that any Returned could use their Breaths for awakening if they received more than one Breath per week, they were just limited to one so they wouldn't figure it out. Susebron was certainly able to awaken tons of things with his Breath reserve after he got his tongue back. There's no reason they wouldn't be able to awaken if they got more Breaths than they need to survive.

Better to DM in Baator than play in CelestiaYou can just call me Dice; that's how I roll.

Spoiler: Sig of Holding

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Originally Posted by abadguy

Darn you PoDL for making me care about a bunch of NPC Commoners!

Originally Posted by Chambers

I'm pretty sure turning Waterdeep into a sheet of glass wasn't the best win condition for that fight. We lived though!

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Well yes, if they get more than their weekly allotment they would be able to awaken. But there is the cultural element to consider.

In Idris Awakened are allowed to die after their week.

In Hallendren they are locked away in the Court of the Gods and are not allowed more than their single weekly Breath.

Even though in theory it is possible for them to Awaken there is no opportunity for them to do so. That's why I say Vasher is the exception, he can hide what he is. No one else knows how to do that.

Ah, I see. In that case, you should probably make a distinction between "they wouldn't have any ability to awaken" and "they wouldn't have an opportunity to use any ability to awaken they might have." When you said they wouldn't have the ability, it implies they are literally unable to do it; saying they can but don't get the chance often means that if one of the Returned was told he could awaken if he got more Breaths than the one, he could awaken things if he went and bought a few Breaths, which is the way it actually works.

Better to DM in Baator than play in CelestiaYou can just call me Dice; that's how I roll.

Spoiler: Sig of Holding

Show

Originally Posted by abadguy

Darn you PoDL for making me care about a bunch of NPC Commoners!

Originally Posted by Chambers

I'm pretty sure turning Waterdeep into a sheet of glass wasn't the best win condition for that fight. We lived though!

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Originally Posted by PairO'Dice Lost

Ah, I see. In that case, you should probably make a distinction between "they wouldn't have any ability to awaken" and "they wouldn't have an opportunity to use any ability to awaken they might have." When you said they wouldn't have the ability, it implies they are literally unable to do it; saying they can but don't get the chance often means that if one of the Returned was told he could awaken if he got more Breaths than the one, he could awaken things if he went and bought a few Breaths, which is the way it actually works.

The problem is that as a Returned who isn't Vasher you will literally never be able to just go out and buy Breath. It just doesn't happen.

When I say they wouldn't have the ability to Awaken, I didn't say they couldn't. Just that they won't.

Basically within the culture and magic system it's basically impossible to be an Returned who has extra Breath unless you are the God King (which no player will ever be) or Vasher (which no player will ever ever ever be no matter what they say or beg).

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Originally Posted by Limos

Basically within the culture and magic system it's basically impossible to be an Returned who has extra Breath unless you are the God King (which no player will ever be) or Vasher (which no player will ever ever ever be no matter what they say or beg).

Spoiler

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Or Denth, or Tonk Fa, or another of the five Scholars, or any of the miscellaneous other people who Returned before that culture formed and have survived the centuries since. Or just Joe Random Returned who discovers the ability to hide his Returned status the same way the first one did, probably either by noticing the effect in general after undergoing a quick and extreme change of self image and then experimenting, or by coincidentally just not viewing himself as anything anywhere near as special as a Returned.

Oh, and the role of typical Returned in Hallandren society does not necessarily preclude a high degree of swordsmanship or other combat skills. Remember that, as Lightsong discovered, a Returned still has all the skills and knowledge of his previous life even though he no longer has the memories of that life.

Originally Posted by TheLogman

Is this from the Wheel of Time Series, or just the Warbreaker book?

Should I read this book?

These things interest me.

This is all from Warbreaker, which is a standalone novel. There is a sequel planned, but not for several years.

Yes, you should read this book. I went short on sleep to finish it, and not many books get me to do that. You should read all of Brandon Sanderson's other books too, while you're at it. Keep in mind that Elantris was his debut novel when you get to that one, though, and it's not quite up to par compared to the rest of his work.

Oh, and if you've read the Wheel of Time, you might want to make a note on your calendar about November 3rd. That's when the next book is scheduled for release, and the two reviews I've seen so far from people who got advance manuscripts were both extremely positive and both said it's one of the best in the series.

Last edited by Douglas; 2009-08-04 at 03:37 PM.

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Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

You know I don't think Tonk Fah was a Returned at all. I think he was one of the mercenaries Denth was said to have stolen from other companies, or prisons. He was mean, and pretty skilled, but he wasn't inhuman like Denth or Vasher.

I think Denth, Vasher and Vahr were the only ones around. I guess technically you could end up with an Awakener Returned, but in all seriousness, I'm not letting someone just start out as Joe Random Returned. Nobody gets to start off as a Returned.

EDIT: Also notice that nobody realized that they were changing their own self image, and since Returned don't remember anything from their previous life they don't even know what they have changed. They don't know what they used to look like before Returning.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Heh, I just finished Warbreaker. Looks to be about about 23 hours since I last posted.

I'm not quite sure that it's a good idea to let players purchase Breath. It seems too simple.

I dunno, I quite like the source material, but I think it's too complex to just get a purchasable item and some feats and powers.

But I dunno, I work in 3.5 mostly, so any of the following ideas are, ten to one, probably incompatible with 4.0.

I see Awakener as just being a class, kinda a combination of Truespeaker and Sorcerer maybe. Because of the limits of the Awakening things, an Awakener would get specialized versions of Animate Object, with the same limits that awakened things get. One action or command.

These, plus what amount to buffs via the other commands (Basically aid checks or circumstance bonuses to allow them to climb, swim, fight, whatever better.)

So, when the level up, Awakeners would get two things: More Breaths, and the ability to command more HD of Awakened objects, larger objects, and give larger circumstance bonuses to themselves or others.

Then they get the perks of more Breaths, too, as they level up.

This plan has several problems:

1. The DM would have to set the costs for specific HD of awakened objects and the circumstance bonuses.

2. If a player loses Breaths in a fight or something, or gives them away, is betrayed, or whatever, the class becomes exceptionally useless.

This is where my idea departs significantly from the cut and dry world of 4.0, since the DM would have to, on occasion, have the Awakener find, fight for, or bargain for Breaths once lost.

It would have a ton of RP potential, and I can see someone like the DM from the Undead Island and Magical Bugs campaign have unlimited fun with it, but it would be some work.

But, there's my two cents. I might work on this somewhat over the next couple days if I get the time, work up a 3.5 Awakener class.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

I actually tried making a full Awakener class a while back, there just wasn't enough there for it to compete with other classes at high levels.

I'm sticking with it being a form of ritual magic, that everyone can get into without having to sacrifice combat potential. That's one reason I made Breath something you buy. If you lose it you can't do your rituals, but you don't become worthless.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Just finished reading the hardback copy of Warbreaker (Originally read it in .doc form when he put it on his website) and realized that there was a table of all the different Heightenings and the benifits of each one. So I redid some of the Heightenings and added all the others right up to the Tenth. Now I plan to balance costs so that it is possible to reach the Ninth heightening by level 28 and thereby have all the materials required to forge a Sentient Awakened Weapon (like Nightblood) at the cost of 10,000 Breaths and a masterwork weapon.

I'm going to add in a section on Awakened weaponry, both how to create it and the stats for several artifact weapons like Nightblood.

Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

Command Breaking tires the user a lot. I'd suggest representing this by making it cost a healing surge to use.

Is there any particular reason all the heightenings give a penalty to will defense?

There is at least one more power of the tenth heightening that is revealed in the text of the book and is not in the table.

Spoiler

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The tenth heightening grants the ability to Awaken with purely mental commands. It is no longer required to actually speak commands out loud. This ability does require training and practice to use, though, so it should not be an automatic benefit. Maybe make it a feat with the tenth heightening as a prerequisite?

Originally Posted by Limos

It's more like losing your Magic Items and such.

I'd suggest taking this a bit further. Set a price for breath such that a character who spends practically all of his money on breath instead of magic items will reach the tenth heightening (or whichever you think players should normally max out at) at or slightly below 30th level. Give the 10th heightening a +6 bonus to all non-AC defenses in place of what it has now, and make the bonus type enhancement. Then calculate what level a player who invests everything in breath will get each lower heightening at and give each of them a uniform enhancement bonus to non-AC defenses equal to an appropriate neck slot item for that level.

Edit: I just calculated the table based on the assumption of getting the 10th heightening at level 29 with the total expenditure of a new made-at-level-29 character's standard wealth:

Come up with some awakenings designed to aid the attacks of the user, and give them a scaling enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls.

For designing awakening rituals in general, the Awakened item itself should almost never be destroyed by normal use of the ritual. Protect Me should not destroy the cloak involved. I'd suggest replacing that limitation with making the attack an encounter power, and allow the player to decide when to use it just like with a magic item's power.

That should take care of the basic essentials of what magic items provide, and you can add a bunch of miscellaneous awakening rituals to replace the various special effects a character might get from items.

To deal with the color aspect of awakening costs:
Designate a few categories of colors, such as grey, dull, normal, and bright, and set a cost in surface area per breath for each category. For example, you might say that awakening something with a dull color source drains a square foot of material per breath, normal drains the same area per two breaths, and bright drains the same per three breaths. Grey is the end product of the draining and cannot be used to power any awakening. The actual cost should probably be lower than this example, as Vasher's scarf was enough to pay for 50 breaths worth all by itself.

Most of the time you'd just assume there is enough color in the surroundings to draw on, and the players would drain random bits of scenery to grey. Some places may be deliberately painted a uniform grey specifically to foil awakening, however, and players may want to buy their own sources of color to deal with such situations. Set prices for objects specifically intended to serve as awakening color sources on a per breath equivalent basis so that players can easily do this and judge how much they have. The price should be pretty low, these are mundane disposable items after all.

The tenth heightening's ability to drain objects to white instead of grey should halve the amount required per breath.

Last edited by Douglas; 2009-08-16 at 09:59 PM.

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Re: [4e] Bio-Chromatic Breath

I gave them a Will defense since I decided that an abundance of Breath would go counter to the normal bonuses from lots of magic.

Usually someone highly magical will have very high Will, and Lower Fortitude. I went the opposite direction.

I didn't bother with the last bonus of the Tenth Heightening simply because 4e lost the Verbal/Somatic component thing so there is no benefit mechanically.

I think you are right about the Item/Breath thing. I will make a variety of rituals that mimic the effects of different items but can be used in Awakenings. Guide My Strikes maybe, or Shield My Flesh for an armor bonus.